Not too many summers ago (I think it was
five) I heard an unusual pianist with an
unusual name at the Music Inn in Lenox,
Massachusetts. He was then very young
and the job was a "summer gig" --"an
excursion to the North," he explained,
"and a chance to hear the well known
jazz groups that played the Music Barn,
as well as to earn money to tide over
the next college year."

What this young pianist did not realize
was that many of the "well known
musicians" he had come North to hear
were leaving Music Inn very impressed
with what they had heard.

Not only did his piano playing knock me
out, but what a name! When I was first
introduced to him, I misunderstood his
name to be "Cup and Saucer" and that's
what he's been to me ever since.

A few years later, my
Quartet had an engagement at Sewanee,
Tennessee, at the University of the
South and I had an opportunity to talk
with Tupper again. He seemed happy and
content with life as it was, and I had
the feeling that he might not choose to
wage the battle all musicians must face
to get themselves recorded and presented
to a larger public. That is why this
album is a very pleasant surprise for
me. I feel that a great talent has just
begun to emerge.

His compositions and the choice of the
material on the album
show him to be at home with many varied
approaches. I had not realized that he
was developing as a writer because I had
heard him only as a solo pianist. As a
matter of fact, my favorite tracks on
the album are his compositions,
"Melissa" and "Contrary Waltz."

A very good follow-up album would be to
present Tupper Saussy as a solo pianist.
All he'd have to do for my money would
be to recreate what I heard years ago at
Music Inn, when I first had the pleasure
to discover Tupper Saussy for myself.